


Not Exactly Kerouac

by OtherCat



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Chrno Crusade
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Humor, Romance, fusion au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-25
Updated: 2010-04-25
Packaged: 2017-10-09 03:43:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/82664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtherCat/pseuds/OtherCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Xander gets his road trip, and things happen. Season 4/Post-Manga crossover fusion. Xander/Shader, for the 1sentence LJ community.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Exactly Kerouac

**01 - Comfort**

"Okay, just because your car died, doesn't mean your road trip is over--I'm visiting friends of mine cross-country, want to come with?"

**02 - Kiss**

Their first kiss was during a barbecue somewhere in Maryland--to the tune of wolf whistles and snickering from Shader's friends.

**03 - Soft**

Shader's brother had such a soft, friendly voice it took Xander a second to realize he was being given the "if you hurt her, I'll kill you" speech.

**04 - Pain**

Of course, then he had to try to protect him from the Wrath of Shader because he'd made the mistake of giving the speech while she was still in earshot.

**05 - Potatoes**

"I see how it is, you really brought me along to peel your potatoes," Xander said as he sat down at the kitchen table to help.

**06 - Rain**

It was raining when they were passing through Phoenix, Shader had a lot say about Arizona drivers, and none of it was good.

**07 - Chocolate**

Xander learned a little too late that chocolate covered espresso beans and Shader were a bad, bad combination.

**08 - Happiness**

"It's not that I don't take things seriously, Xan, it's more like I try to be happy despite the serious."

**09 - Telephone**

The call home went about as well as Xander thought it would, but Xander didn't mind staying at the motel with Shader.

**10 - Ears**

"Yes, I know she has cat-ears, they're kind of hard to miss; she also has a tail."

**11 - Name**

"Her name's Shader, and she's wondering if everyone will be speaking in third person all night."

**12 - Sensual**

"I was just thinking that smart is definitely sexy," Xander said, then ducked the Star Wars plushie Shader aimed at his head.

**13 - Death**

Xander looked between Anya and Shader--currently giving each other deathglares from across the room--and gave serious consideration to becoming a monk.

**14 - Sex**

"Hey, no comparing me to exes...okay, no comparing me to NOT-exes then..."

**15 - Touch**

"You're just the right size for leaning against, Xan."

**16 - Weakness**

One of the things Xander liked the most about Shader was that she never let him feel sorry for himself for very long.

**17 - Tears**

When Xander told Shader how big the "fear demon" actually was, she laughed until her eyes watered.

**18 - Speed**

Xander bit his tongue hard to keep from saying that Shader had the reflexes of a cat, because she also had the temper of a demon who is sick of cat-related jokes.

**19 - Wind**

"It's _never_ just the wind," Xander and Shader said simultaneously--it would have been fun, except for the part where it wasn't.

**20 - Freedom**

Thankgiving featured syphillis, an angry ghost, and a huge argument between Shader and Spike about civil rights.

**21 - Life**

"Ah, small town life, so quiet and peaceful," Shader said, and grabbed the first aid kit as Xander and his friends stumbled in.

**22 - Jealousy**

When it came to jealousy, Xander and Shader were on the same page in that they both agreed that it pretty much led to stupidity.

**23 - Hands**

Shader laughed and handed Xander a wrench saying, "it took you this long to figure out that you think with your hands?"

**24 - Taste**

"Brownies are one of the few things I can actually bake," Shader said with a grin.

**25 - Devotion**

"No, dummy, this isn't the 'lets be friends' speech, it's the 'I know your friends are important to you,' speech, big difference," Shader said, and gently thumped Xander on the head.

**26 - Forever**

"Walter Mitty over there has gotten on my last nerve *forever,*" Shader said, glaring at Jonathan, who was now more or less hiding behind Buffy.

**27 - Blood**

"Well, despite the threats, I don't think she'll drink your blood for the cat-girl thing, Jonathan; you might want to watch out if she decides to tell her brother what happened though," Xander said cheerfully.

**28 - Sickness**

"Whoever decided to build an underground lab on a dimensional faultline was sick in the head," Shader said in an almost conversational tone.

**29 - Melody**

"It's called 'Israfel,' a friend of mine used to sing it," Shader explained when Xander asked.

**30 - Star**

"Jonathan brings new and strange meaning to the term 'star power,'" Xander said.

**31 - Home**

They both agreed that no home was complete without a collection of b-grade horror films.

**32 - Confusion**

Sometimes the things Shader talked about were so out there only Giles or maybe Willow got what she was saying.

**33 - Fear**

You always knew the moment Xander was frightened out of his mind; it was usually also the moment his mouth ran off while the rest of him stayed put.

**34 - Lightning**

When Shader wanted to, she could move *really* fast.

**35 - Bonds**

"The Scoobies" really made Shader miss the other Sinners sometimes--they were family, even when they argued with each other.

**36 - Market**

Xander learned the hard way that grocery shopping was not Shader's forte when she came back with a stack of magazines, a couple cases of soda, and two miniature rose plants--but no groceries.

**37 - Technology**

"I swear you're worse than Chrono when it comes to computers," Shader said to Xander as she rebooted the computer.

**38 - Gift**

Shader giggled at the gobsmacked look on Xander's face when he opened his birthday present.

**39 - Smile**

Xander had a smile with enough wattage to light up a small city.

**40 - Innocence**

Shader was an incredibly bad liar--she couldn't even tell white ones--despite that, she had one heck of a poker face.

**41 - Completion**

"It's a ballista," Shader said proudly, as she stepped away from her creation, which looked like a crossbow on steroids.

**42 - Clouds**

In a dream: Shader held out a cup and said, "there's clouds in my coffee."

**43 - Sky**

In a dream: "You have the whole sky in there," Xander said when he looked into the cup and saw the Earth, floating in space.

**44 - Heaven**

In a dream: "There are more things in heaven and earth than philosophy," Shader replied.

**45 - Hell**

In a dream: "All of this symbolism is hell on the nerves," Xander said to Shader, and walked down the dune to where Buffy was playing in the sand.

**46 - Sun**

He woke up from the weirdest dream ever with the sun in his eyes--which was eclipsed by Shader's worried face.

**47 - Moon**

"Patrols by moonlight--now there's something I never would have thought of as romantic," Shader said with a grin.

**48 - Waves**

Xander realized a bit too late that he probably shouldn't have teased Shader about cats not liking water, when he was that close to the pool.

**49 - Hair**

Shader looked from the old picture to Xander's new hair cut, "let it grow out again please."

**50 - Supernova**

On certain nights of the year, the Ring lit up like a supernova just before dawn--to Xander, it seemed like a good omen, since they were just coming back from patrol.


End file.
